Mechanical-figure toy



- 1,688,575 L. D. CROSSETT MECHANICAL FIGURE TOY Oct. 23, 1928.

Filed March 29, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I INVENTGR 4g ATTORNEY L. D. CROSSETT MECHANI CAL FIGURE TOY Oct. 23, 1928. 1,688,575

Filed March 29, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY to an enlarged scale similar to reduced ends 21 Patented Get. 23, 1928.

UNITED STATES LEWIS D. CROSSETT, OF

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, ASSIG'NOR E ONE-HALE T O PIERRE BARNES, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

MECHANICAL-FIGURE TOY.

Application filed March 29, 1927. Serial No. 179,244

This invention relates to a mechanical bird toy having wings adapted to flap. The ob ect of my invention, generally, is the improvement in toys of this character and, more especially, to provide wing-governing devices whereby the angular relation of the planes of the wings are regulated with respect to the direction of a wind or air current that the latter will cause the wings to flap or beat the air in the similit-ude of those of a natural bird in flying. I attain this object by the novel construction, adaptation and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed,

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a portion of the. front end of an automobile, and a toy embodying the present'invention applied thereto as an ornament; Fig. 2'is a transverse vertical section taken substantially on broken line 2-2 of Fig. 3; Fig. 3 is a plan view on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, the upper member of the casing being omitted; Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken through the gear segment elements of the wing assembly; Fig, 5 is a. view Fig. 3 but with parts broken away and shown partly in horizontal section; and Fig. 6 is a detail fragmentary section on line 66 of Fig. 5.

In said drawings, the device is shown as having a casing in the form of the body of a bird which, for convenience in manufacturing, is made of two members a breast member 10 and a top member 11detachably connected together as by means of screws, which are indicated by 12 in Fig. 1.

Provided in each side of the body structure is an aperture having complementary portions 13 and 14. in the respective members 10 and 11.

15 represent wing members having integral with each wing a stem element 16 which extends through the respective aperture of the body and within the latter terminates in an arm 17 provided with a sector gear 18, the gear of one wing being in continuous mesh with the gear of the other wing. The gear of one wing is shrouded by the provision of flanges 19 (Fig. 5) at opposite sides of its teeth to prevent lateral displacement of the teeth of one gear with respect to the teeth of the other gear and maintain the gears in a plane with each other.

Extending diametrically through each of the wing stems 16 is a rocker shaft 20 having which are journaled in bearings 22 provided upon the respective side walls of the body member 10. Provided axially in each of said stems is a pin 23 which also extends diametrically through the associated rocker shaft 20 as shown in Figs. 5 and 6; the stems being cut away to provide recesses at 2% (Fig. 6) permitting the wings and their stems to oscillate about the axes of the respective pins. The central portion of each of the rocker shafts 20, between the recesses 2a of the respective stems 16, is adapted to tit against the stem body at diametrically opposite sides of the rocker shaft, as shown at the right hand side of Fig. 5, whereby axial movement of the respective wings is obviated and the intermeshing gears 18 of the two wings are permitted to function with a minimum of friction.

Secured to one of the wing arms 17 is a protruding pin or stud 25 which is engageable with stops 27 and 28 provided in a body standard element 26 above and below a cavity 29 into which the stud 25 extends.

In Fig. 1 the toy is represented as secured to the top of a post 30 extending upwardly from the cap 31 provided upon the radiator 32 of an automobile.

The arms 17 are desirably made of sufiicient weight to serve as counter balances to the weight of the respective wings.

When the wings of the toy are subjected to a current of air in a direction longitudinal of the toy, as by a natural breeze or an artificial one provided by the travel of an automobile, the air current acts upon the wings to impart an up-and-down flapping movement thereto.

In order to enable a breeze to cause the wings to flap, the latter are rotatably moved about the axes of their stems 16 by the cooperating action of the stud 25 with respect to the stops 27 and 28 to alternately present the under and upper surfaces of the wings in angular relation to the breeze.

When the under surfaces of the wings are presented, as in Fig. 2, in angular relation to a head breeze the wings will ascend from positions 6 to a, indicated by dot-and-dash lines in the view. 7

The stud is thus brought into its lower position, and the further upward movement of the wings, due principally to their momentum, acting counter to the stop 28, will produce a rotary movement to both of the wings to present the upper surfaces of the latter into the breeze which thereupon force the wings downwardly into their Z) positions when the stud 25 engages as at 25 the stop 27 to effect a turning of the wings to bring the under surfaces thereof into the breeze, which results in the uplifting of the wings, and so on, the wings being turned during the termination of their alternate strokes into operative relation with the breeze. By rea son of the gear connections between the arms 17, the wings flap in unison with each other; the shrouding 19 of the gears serving to retain the gear teeth in their mutually engaged relation, and also serve to unite the two wings so that they are compelled to rotate in unison about the axes of the pins in every position of the wings with respect to their oscillatory connectionsrocker shafts 20 with the body.

l/Vhat I claim, is:

l. A bird toy, having wings adapted to be flapped by a head breeze, said toy having a hollow body, wings, stems there'ler extending through opposite walls of said body, rocker shafts for connecting the wings to the body for substantially vertical flapping movements, pins connectingthe stems of the wings to the aforesaid rocker shafts permitting rotary movements of the wings about axes longitudinally of the respective wings, connections between the associated stems and rocker shafts being such will prevent longitudinal movement of the wings relative to the axes of the respective rocker shafts, means for connecting the wings together for conjoint flapping and rotary movements, and means rendered operable bythe-flapping ofthewings to effect rotary movements of the wings to present alternately the upper and lower surfaces thereof into operative relation with the breeze.

2. A bird toy having wings adapted to be flapped by a head breeze, comprising a hollow body with openings in its opposite sides, wings having stems extending through the respective openings and having arm elements within the body, said arm elements being provided with inter-engaging teeth, the teeth of one of said arms operating between flange elements provided opposite sides of the teeth of the other arm, pivotal connections between said stems and the body permitting both flapping and rotary lllOVGll'lQlltS to the wings preventing endwise movement of the wings, a stud provided upon the arm of one of the wings, and stop devices therefor provided in the body, said stops being engageable by the stud in the respective flapping movements of the wings to effect rotary movements to the same.

Signed at Seattle Washington, this 28th day of February 1927.

LEWIS D. CROSSETT. 

